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This is my attempt at Educated Hick’s Country Lad Challenge. I am running CM0304 with the English and Scottish Leagues selected and I have chosen Gretna to be my starting team. Gretna Green is a small village in the Scottish borders with a population of around 3,000. It is best know as a place where eloping couples from England could be married without parental consent.
Gretna (http://www.gretnafootballclub.co.uk/) play in the Scottish Third Division and, in common with most clubs in Scotland they are Semi-Professional. They play at Raydale Park, which has a capacity of 2,200 with 385 seats. The facilities are pretty awful but I was surprised at the size of the playing squad. They have almost 50 players on their books and the wage bill runs at over £8,500 a week, a huge amount for a club of this size so that needs to be trimmed.
Behind the scenes I have an Assistant Manager, a Physio and a Scout so whilst I will be cutting back on the playing front I need to build up the backroom team. The transfer budget has been set at £35K for the season but I have no immediate plans to bring in any new players until I have properly evaluated the current squad. But a quick look at the player’s contracts shows up two particularly high earners – midfielder Stephen Cosgrove is on an extraordinary £2K a week and his colleague Lee Maddison is on £1,200. Getting these two off the payroll would bring us under budget overnight so they are both immediately made available.
It is also an easy decision to allow former player/manager Rowan Alexander to leave – a 42-year-old striker has no part in my plans and his coaching attributes leave a lot to be desired too. Assistant Manager Davie Irons, another 42-year-old player/coach, won’t be lasting too much longer either if I can find a decent replacement. I quickly bring in two coaches, a scout and another physio and establish a new training schedule.
Our pre-season preparations are pretty low-key as I cancel most of the friendlies that had previously been arranged leaving just two on the calendar. Both are home games against higher league opposition and both produce good wins – Airdrie United are defeated 2-0 and Falkirk are sent home with three unanswered goals against them. Several of our younger players have showed up well in the warm ups and we face the season opener, a Challenge Cup match at Queens Park, full of optimism.
I want to employ a fairly simple formation so I set the team out with a 4-4-2 lineup but with the midfield operating in a slight diamond. One central midfielder will play more of a holding role, guarding the defence, and the other will push up when the opportunity presents. Despite losing two defenders to injury during the game we gain a 4-2 win with our two best players on the pitch getting the goals. Central defender David Holdsworth scored our third goal and looks well-equipped for this level. The 34-year-old has many years of top-flight experience behind and his previous clubs include Watford, Sheffield United and Birmingham amongst others. But the star of the show was 19-year-old Gary Cohen who grabbed a hat trick on his first competitive outing for the club. The youngster has pace to burn and his lightning fast breaks from midfield caused out opponents all sorts of trouble. The boy is raw and has a lot to learn but he’s one of the quickest players I’ve ever seen and he has a good level of stamina too. With his sheer pace he could be troubling Third Division defences all season.
On the injury front the loss of right back Mark Birch is a blow as he was looking like making that position his own but he will be benched for a month with a broken arm. On-loan defender Richard Robb is less seriously damaged, a neck problem will keep the 20-year-old out for a week.
Before our opening league game of the season at Peterhead, Celtic complete a comfortable 4-1 aggregate win over Swedish club Djurgarden in the Champions League 2nd qualifying round. On the transfer front we receive a few enquiries. Boston United get in touch regarding reserve midfielder Douglas Taylor and I suggest that a fee of £6K would be enough to part with him. Unfortunately that is more than they want to pay so no joy there. But the other calls are less welcome. Alloa and Airdrie are both asking about 18-year-old forward Gary Harding but they are rebuffed. Another little speed merchant, I want to keep him as a backup for young Cohen. I receive firm bids from Dumbarton and Alloa for young striker Dean Douglas but he showed some promise in pre-season so they are both firmly rejected.
We get our league campaign off to a fine start with a 2-0 win at Peterhead with strikers Ian Stevens, an experienced campaigner who has been in the game for almost 20 years, and young buck Dean Douglas both finding the net. Barely two days later we are back into Challenge Cup action, facing a game at Second Division East Fife. Partly through choice but mainly through necessity, I shuffle the team around completely for this game. I have to say that very few of the fringe players coming in did much to catch my attention in a positive fashion. Veteran keeper David Wylie was particularly awful and his nightmare performance was a major factor in our 7-3 defeat. The £3K received in prize money gave some consolation but it was a really disappointing display.
Later that week I complete a deal that sends defender Adam Thwaites to Hamilton for a £2K fee – just in case he hits the big time I include a 20% sell on clause but I won’t hold my breath. Our first home game of the season sees Cowdenbeath visit Raydale Park and 1,500 happy souls witness a fine win. It’s like night and day compared to our midweek debacle as we run out 5-1 winners. Strikers Stevens and Douglas get one apiece and Cohen helps himself to another hat trick, his second in two appearances.
We continue to get a few offers through the door – Aberdeen and Bristol Rovers are interested in young Gary Wills but we are a little light on the left of defence so he is staying put for the time being. Veteran midfielder Danny Lennon has half a dozen clubs chasing him but his experience is vital in our young team so no deal there. For the trip to Albion Rovers for our next league game I keep an unchanged side but we don’t reach the heights of last weekend. Our attacking play is good and Cohen and Douglas both get on the scoresheet again but we defend poorly and concede a late goal to lose 3-2.
Celtic make it through to the group stage of the Champions League, coming through a tough tie against Galatasaray 3-1 on aggregate thanks to two goals from Henrik Larsson in Turkey. Rangers aren’t so lucky, losing an enthralling encounter against Marseille 5-4 overall. In the UEFA Cup Dundee have a field day in their qualifying tie with Metalurgs of Latvia, winning 9-0 on aggregate.
Our final game of the month is at home against struggling Elgin and once again we excel in attack. The strikers are on target as Douglas scores twice and Martin Cameron gets one but once again Cohen stars with his third hat trick in 5 starts. The 6-0 win takes us to second place in the table, a point behind Stirling and ahead of Albion Rovers and Cowdenbeath on goal difference. Gary Cohen deservedly takes the Player of the Month award with Dean Douglas winning the Young Players equivalent.
With just a couple of days rest before our first game of the new month I have to make changes to the starting lineup for the visit of Airdrie United in the League Cup. To my great relief history doesn’t repeat itself, partly because I tried to keep a few key players in the first eleven. We put in a sterling performance and keep our impressive home record well and truly intact. Our strikers all look like they have goals in them and this time Martin Cameron scores two and Shaun Milligan opens his account. Gary Harding shows his potential with a terrific hat trick before being replaced by Cohen just before the break. The man himself rounded off the scoring in the second half as we blew Airdrie away with a 7-1 scoreline.
Although the transfer window is now closed for the rest of the year I have agreed that reserve winger Nick Robinson will move to Dumbarton for £5K when the window re-opens in January.
Scotland’s qualifying campaign for Euro 2004 got a boost with a fine 5-0 defeat of the Faroe Islands at the weekend. But they undid that good work in midweek, losing 3-0 in Germany after a tame performance. Surprise package Iceland head the group with Germany second and it looks like Scotland will miss out on a playoff place.
We follow our excellent cup win with a solid win at struggling East Stirling with yet another Cohen hat trick the centre point of our 4-1 victory. As I suspected it might his sheer pace is proving too hot to handle and he is being touted in the local press as “the poor man’s Craig Bellamy”. Celtic start their Champions League group with a 1-1 draw at home to Arsenal thanks to a late equaliser from Henrik Larsson.
Visiting Queens Park provide stiff resistance as we try to keep our 100% home record on track with keeper Chris Lamb in fine form. But goals from Cohen and Cameron finally give us a 2-1 win that takes us to the top of the table.
It’s Cup action next as we travel to Second Division Dumbarton for a League Cup 2nd Round tie. Winger Ryan Baldacchino inspires us to an excellent 3-0 win, setting up two of our goals. Central defender Paul O’Neill opens the scoring early on with Dean Douglas getting the second before half time. Strike partner Martin Cameron adds the third after the break as we totally dominate play.
The month ends with a top-of-the-table clash at Stirling Albion. They are unbeaten in the league thus far and sit just a point behind us. An even first half ends scoreless but we step up the pace in the second period and Shaun Milligan found the net twice with Dean Douglas also on target to give us a fine 3-0 win.
We end the month 4 points clear at the top of the table with young winger John Hore winning the Player of the Month award and myself being recognised as Manager of the Month.
In the Champions League Celtic lose their second group game 1-0 at Dinamo Kiev and were it not for keeper Magnus Hedman they would have lost by a much bigger margin. We get the month underway with a visit from Montrose. We don’t look convincing early on but Gary Cohen breaks the deadlock on the stroke of half time and goes on to claim two more. Substitute Gary Harding also scores to round off an easy 4-0 win.
During the week Boston United come in with a bid for reserve midfielder Ian Cummersky and I am happy to let the 17-year-old go for a mere £1K but Oxford’s enquiry about Gary Harding is quickly rejected. Scotland finish off their Euro2004 campaign with a 4-0 demolition of [b]Lithuania at Hampden but just miss out on a playoff place. Germany win the group and Iceland finish runners up. In the UEFA Cup Hearts come through the 1st round with a 3-1 aggregate win over NAC Breda and Dundee complete an impressive 7-3 defeat of Malatyaspor but Rangers are eliminated on away goals by Hertha BSC.
The first managerial casualty of the season is announced as Berwick Rangers part company with Paul Smith. After our weekend off we are back into action at home to Stranraer. The pace of young Gary Cohen continues to terrorise the hapless Division Three defences and in this game he scores 4 times in our 5-0 win with Dean Douglas getting the fifth.
In an enthralling match Celtic fight back from 2-0 down to secure a 2-2 draw against PAO in Athens. They lost Henrik Larsson to injury in the first half but recovered through goals from captain Paul Lambert and Stilian Petrov. At the halfway point in their group they lie 3rd but are still in with a chance of qualification.
Our final league game of the month sees highlanders Peterhead make the long trip south to Raydale Park. We lose left back Lee Marshall to injury just 15 minutes into the game but this doesn’t seem to upset our rhythm. Paul O’Neill and Ryan Baldacchino give us a 2-0 lead at half time and Gary Cohen, Dean Douglas and Martin Cameron complete a 5-0 victory after the break.
Raith Rovers of Division One win the Challenge Cup with a narrow 2-1 win over third Division Stirling Albion. The Fife side needed extra time to overcome Stirling’s spirited resistance.
We end the month with one of the biggest games in the club’s recent history – a visit to SPL side Dundee United in the Third Round of the League Cup. We go into the game without key midfielder Gary Cohen as the 19-year-old has a niggling training injury and isn’t quite fit enough to play so Gary Harding takes his place. The game turns out to be quite an epic full of action and incident. Less than 20 minutes into the match Harding limps off injured and is replaced by James Allan. Within seconds Martin Cameron puts us into the lead and 4 minutes before half time Allan makes it 2-0. But after the break Dundee United come back strongly and Charlie Miller scores a stunning free kick to pull a goal back. With 15 minutes remaining Derek McInnes gets an equaliser but two minutes later Cameron scores his second to put us back in front. Five minutes later Cameron also departs injured so on comes Ian Stevens. With less than three minutes left on the clock veteran striker Billy Dodds scores to send the game into extra time. Five minutes into the extra period Dean Douglas scores to put us 4-3 ahead but then winger John Hore has to be taken off. We manage to hold out for another 10 minutes before Mark Kerr squares the game once more. With no further scoring the match is decided on penalties and Richard Robb is the unlucky man who misses, striking the crossbar with our 4th spot kick. The boys are exhausted after their efforts but the people of Gretna can be proud of their team – they ran their hearts out tonight. We do receive a nice £20K in prize money, which softens the blow somewhat.
On the awards front we manage a clean sweep of the October prizes – Cohen wins Player of the Month, O’Neill Young Player and myself Manager.
Our first game of the month involved a trip to Cowdenbeath. With a lot of the players still very tired after their heroic failure in midweek quite a number of fringe players made the starting lineup. Within 10 minutes of the start we had our first problem – striker Dean Douglas having to come off injured. Without an out-and-out striker on the bench the overpaid Stephen Cosgrove was sent on to play up front and earn his money for a change. On the half hour we went a goal behind but on-loan Baldacchino equalised from the penalty spot just before the break. We had the better of the second period but failed to convert any of the numerous chances that came our way. The home side took the lead once more with 15 minutes remaining and as we entered stoppage time it looked like a defeat was on the cards. But then the boy Cohen saved the day three minutes into added-on time with a deserved equaliser.
In the Champions League Celtic played out their 3rd draw in 4 group games, this one a 0-0 stalemate at home to PAO. The group is still wide open though, but the Bhoys need to get a win under their belts to have a change of progressing.
The day before our important league match at home to second place Albion Rovers we lose defensive stalwart David Holdsworth, out for two months with a groin strain. Now I may be a little biased but I’d say that this is a good a performance as we’ve put in all season. The visitors were brushed aside during our 4-0 win. A Cohen hat trick was the highlight but players like Baldacchino, who scored the opener, and Cameron were instrumental in the win.
The transfer market is a funny thing - we continue to receive enquiries for players that we don’t want to sell whilst the no-hopers on the transfer list are steadfastly ignored! Good news this week from a couple of our pensioners - aging Player/Assistant Manager Davie Irons and creaky old defender Keith Knox have both decided to hang up their boots at the end of this season.
We have a weekend off because of the Euro2004 playoffs. I am vaguely interested to see that the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Croatia, Turkey and Spain all qualify for the finals in Portugal.
Back into league action now and the trip to struggling Elgin, in 9th place with only 4 points, should not trouble us too much – aside from the length of the journey of course. It’s a bloody long way on a coach, especially when you suffer from travel sickness as badly as yours truly. Now maybe the players were a bit travelsick too but we started very poorly, allowing the home side to take an early lead with virtually the only shot they had on target all afternoon. Baldacchino scored a good equaliser midway through the half as we started to assert ourselves. After a brisk half time team talk the boys really knuckled down and spent the next 45 minutes pounding Elgin’s goal but failed to beat an inspired keeper. It is quite beyond me how a goalie that has conceded 23 goals in 7 games can suddenly transform himself into Superman but that’s what Martin Pirie did. 1-1 the final score and two points thrown away.
Draw specialists Celtic do it again, coming back from Arsenal with a 1-1 scoreline thanks to a late John Hartson penalty. They are now bottom of the group and may even struggle to land a consolation place in the UEFA Cup. Hearts and Dundee both excel in the UEFA Cup. Dundee come back from a 3-0 defeat in Spain to beat Celta 3-0 at home and then win on penalties. Hearts also eliminate Spanish opposition, getting the better of Valencia on away goals after a 2-0 win at Tynecastle.
Our last action of the month sees the whipping boys of Division Three, East Stirling, pay a visit. Now I shouldn’t make rash predictions after last weekend but if we fail to beat a team that has a record of one win and 12 defeats then I’ll eat my hat. Well thankfully it won’t be necessary for me to eat any headgear as we made up for last week’s debacle with a thumping 11-0 win. God they were bad – if the Shire was a horse it would be shot as an animal would never be allowed to go through that much suffering. It says a lot that their best player on the pitch was their keeper Chris Todd. Our goalscorers were Cohen (4), Cameron (3), O’Neill, Baldacchino, Lennon and Douglas.
So at the end of November we are still top of the table, 9 points clear of Albion Rovers. Gary Cohen once again was voted Player of the Month with myself modestly receiving the plaudits on the Managerial front.
The first game of the month is a Scottish Cup first round tie at non-league Annan. We may have been a little complacent early on as we allowed the home side to take the lead inside 10 minutes. But that was soon put right as goals from Gary Cohen and Martin Cameron gave us the lead. An unfortunate own goal on the half hour stretched our advantage and in the second half Cameron completed an exemplary performance by scoring twice more to claim an excellent hat trick.
Celtic completed their Champions League campaign with yet another draw and the scoreless stalemate at home to Dinmao Kiev allowed the Ukrainians to take third place in the group and gain the consolation UEFA Cup place.
What will be a very busy month continued with a midweek trip to Queens Park for a league match. A few players were rested for this game and we weren’t quite at our attacking best. The first half finished scoreless but the three points were secured after the break when winger John Hore scored what proved to be the only goal of the game.
We were soon back into action again as third place Stirling Albion came to town with the starting lineup shuffled once again to allow some recovery time to various players. We started strongly and dominated play with Gary Cohen underlining his value with two goals in the first half. He completed his hat trick in the second half to finish off a fine 3-0 win as we stretch our lead at the top to nine points.
But we have no time to rest on our laurels as we have another midweek game, travelling to Airdrie United for a Scottish Cup 2nd round tie. Having soundly beaten today’s opponents earlier in the season in the League Cup they will no doubt be looking for revenge. There must be something about playing Airdrie that this team like as, far from evening up the score, the home side suffered another heavy defeat. A Martin Cameron hat trick, plus a strike from Dean Douglas, gave us a comfortable half time lead. Airdrie managed a consolation goal early in the second half but we continued our demolition regardless. Cameron scored two more and Gary Cohen grabbed yet another hat trick as we ran riot with a 9-1 win.
For the weekend trip to Stranraer I rested most of the first team and brought in a lot of untried players. They were more than good enough to comfortably beat a poor home side 7-0. Strikers Martin Cameron and Shaun Milligan scored two apiece with substitute striker Dean Douglas also featuring. Midfielder Douglas Taylor and central defender Gary Brown were also on target in an easy win.
Midfield star Gary Cohen is coming towards the end of his current contract and I was just about to start talking about a new deal when my Chairman suddenly comes over all patriotic and insists that we will only sign Scottish players. So our English superstar will not be offered a new contract and that’s the end of it. I blame Mel Gibson myself, that bloody “Braveheart” movie! Given that more than half of our squad is English we are going to see a lot of changes in the future.
Our final game of the year involves a Friday night trip to Montrose. The home side had obviously been well briefed on the danger that Cohen represents as within 25 minutes they had kicked the youngster off the park. His replacement, the almost as speedy Gary Harding, looked like giving us the last laugh with a goal in the second half but our hosts struck back with a late goal of their own and we left with a 1-1 draw.
Alloa manager Terry Christie is given a lovely Christmas present, being sacked by the board. Once again we feature strongly in the end of month awards with Martin Cameron voted Player of the Month. Modesty does not permit me to reveal the name of the Manager of the Month. So at year-end we sit at the top of the Third Division, 8 points ahead of Albion Rovers in second place and a further point ahead of [b]Stirling Albion.
For our first match of the year we would face a daunting trip all the way up to Peterhead. As we can’t afford to pay for overnight stays this involves a ridiculously early start in the small hours of Saturday morning and a long coach journey so it’s no great surprise that the players aren’t exactly at their best. But loaner Ryan Baldicchino gives us an early goal and we reach half time in the lead. But then in the second half we loose central defender Gary Brown to injury and then minutes later the home side equalise. Events take another downturn when Cohen backchats to the referee after a booking and gets a second yellow to reduce us to 10 men. But perhaps as a way of evening things up, the somewhat erratic ref gives us a fairly soft penalty, which Baldicchino converts to give us a 2-1 win.
The Monday after the game I am very surprised when the Chairman seeks me out to tell me that Third Division Leyton Orient have asked for permission to talk to me about their vacant managerial position. I decline their kind offer, preferring instead to stick with Gretna (at least for the moment).
After 4 consecutive away matches it was nice to get a home game, and what a game it was – against Aberdeen in the 3rd Round of the Scottish Cup. With midfield dynamo Cohen suspended it would be up to Gary Harding to perform defence-shredding duties. Aberdeen didn’t get off to the best of starts when keeper David Preece was injured after just 10 minutes. Just before the half hour mark it looked like Harding had opened the scoring as he latched on to a neat flick from Martin Cameron but his effort was ruled out for reasons that only the referee will understand. But 10 minutes later we did take the lead, Cameron volleying home from a Baldicchino cross. We came under increasing pressure after the break but always looked dangerous on the break and came close to scoring a second. But the defence finally cracked with 8 minutes remaining and the visitors squared the game. There would be no further scoring and the 1-1 draw meant that we faced a replay at Aberdeen in 4 days time. It was a very good performance by the lads but there were some seriously tired legs at the end of the game and we will certainly have to make some changes for the return.
In the days leading up to the replay we made our first signing of the season as 29-year-old midfielder Alex Grace joins from Stranraer for a modest £1K. He has plenty of experience and is strong and fit with a good team ethic. With the imminent departure of Cohen I am hoping that he will prove to be an effective replacement.
For the replay itself we are without central defender Gary Brown, out for 3 weeks with a groin strain. Harding isn’t fit to play either so new boy Grace makes an early debut, despite being severely short of match fitness. We were under the cosh from the kick-off, having to survive wave after wave of Aberdeen attacks. We rode our luck for most of the first half thanks in part to some wild finishing by the Dons but then 5 minutes before half time central defender Paul O’Neill elbowed striker Scott Booth and off he went. I took off the tiring Grace and brought on David Holdsworth, the influential defender now back in full training but not yet match fit. We made it to the break still scoreless and ten minutes after half time we caught Aberdeen on the break, Baldicchino managing to latch on to a long ball to fire home. This served as a wake up call to the home side and within minutes Scott Booth, who caused us problems all evening, found an equaliser. Five minutes after that he scored again to put our hosts in front. We continued to absorb pressure, trying to hit our opponents on the break, a task made all the harder by being a player short. As the clock ticked down Aberdeen struck again in injury time and it was all over. The 3-1 defeat was not unexpected and we certainly gave them a good battle. The £50K prize money that we receive will make a big dent in the overdraft as well.
With a visit to Albion Rovers for a key league match coming just three days later, there were a number of changes made to the playing personnel to get some fresh legs on the pitch. Despite the best efforts of Gary Cohen who scored twice in each half, we fell to a 3-2 defeat in a tight and exciting contest.
In the days leading up to our midweek game at home to Cowdenbeath we secured zippy forward Andy Scott on loan from Stranraer. The 22-year-old has a good work ethic to complement his speed and he could prove to be useful. In addition to this Gary Cohen’s contract expired. The youngster is fully aware of our Chairman’s position and realises that he will not get a renewal but by the same token he is reluctant to leave the club. He has therefore decided to stay on with no contract in place and play on a month-to-month basis. Now not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth I am very happy with this arrangement and he can stay at Gretna until he finds a contract elsewhere.
In the match itself we don’t get off to the best of starts. Inside 5 minutes striker Cameron limps off injured and we fall a goal behind. But it doesn’t take us too long to get back on even terms, veteran Danny Lennon scoring a rare goal after 12 minutes. Baldacchino puts us ahead before halftime and after the break we really get into our stride. Dean Douglas and Gary Cohen score twice each as we dominate the second period and run out 6-1 winners.
With the transfer window about to close shortly we manage to offload a player – 21-year-old Englishman Steven Rooke moving to Berwick for £2K. A busy month on the playing front continues as we entertain cellar-dwellers Elgin in the league. The poor Highlanders had no answer to our aggressive attacking play and fell to an emphatic 7-0 defeat. Their defence was ripped to shreds and all in all they were really dreadful. Andy Scott scored a hat trick on his debut and Alex Grace managed three as well. Danny Lennon was also on the scoresheet having obviously decided that he liked this scoring lark.
The next day Elgin boss David Robertson was unceremoniously booted out and with his team bottom of the table with one win in 22 games I can’t say that I’m too surprised. St. Jonhnstone boss Billy Stark is also looking for alternative employment as he pays the price for a poor season. The Fifers are in 8th place in the First Division, just 1 point above a relegation place.
On the eve of the transfer deadline we manage to unload another Englishman with backup defender Gavin Skelton moving to Berwick for £2K. A very hectic month is brought to a conclusion by the visit of Queens Park. Andy Scott proves to be the match winner with a second consecutive hat trick. His performance is such that I am amazed that he was languishing in the Stranraer reserves before we took him on loan. The 3-1 win means that we end the month with a 10-point cushion over second place Stirling Albion and are looking pretty good for promotion. In the monthly awards Ryan Baldacchino is recognised as Player of the Month for his recent fine form.
The shortest month of the year gets underway with a trip to Stirling to play the Albion. Without wishing to be premature this could well be billed as a title decider as a win over our nearest rivals would put us in a strong position indeed. The lads certainly rose to the occasion, outplaying the home side and recording a 4-0 win. Cohen was on target twice as was Dean Douglas. The only downside was that winger John Hore suffered a broken arm and will be out for a month.
There is news of another managerial sacking as Inverness Caledonian dispense with the services of John Robertson. Currently in 7th place in Division One the Highlanders are not having the best of seasons and clearly feel that a new man at the helm is required.
The trip to struggling East Stirling should not cause us too many problems although I have no expectations that we will repeat our 11-0 demolition earlier in the season. As it turns out we had enough chances to come close to that scoreline as the home side offered little resistance. But two goals from Cohen and another from Baldacchino was enough for a comfortable 3-0 win.
After weeks of speculation, Stranraer finally parted company with manager Neil Watt. The 3rd-worst team in Division Three have had a poor season and poor Neil has now paid the price.
Our preparation for the visit of Montrose has been disrupted slightly by a few training injuries but nothing too serious. The visitors get off to a flying start with a goal inside 5 minutes but we respond well and strikes from Cameron, Cohen and Scott take us to the break 3-1 ahead. If anything we play even better in the second half. Cameron completes his hat trick, no doubt celebrating his new contract extension. Cohen gets his second and substitute Douglas, on for the injured Scott, also finds the net to complete a 7-1 win.
The UEFA Cup is back in action and the 3rd Round draw threw up a couple of Scotland v. England ties. Dundee got the better of Southampton 1-0 and Hearts had a fine 3-1 win over Manchester City.
Managerless Stranraer are the next team to visit “Fortress Raydale” as we seek to extend our perfect home record in the league. A first half brace from Andy Scott puts us on track as we establish a stranglehold on the game. In the second period the floodgates opened as Cohen gets a hat trick and Cameron scores twice. Our second 7-1 win in 7 days gives us 14 wins out of 14 at home and opens up an impressive 20-point lead at the top of the table.
Our fine February form sees a clean sweep of the monthly awards – Cohen and O’Neill taking the playing honours and myself the managerial award.
There was UEFA Cup success in the Scotland v England contests. Hearts lost 1-0 at Manchester City but won 3-2 overall and a scoreless draw at Southampton was enough for Dundee to go through.
A hat trick of home games was completed by the visit of Peterhead. Despite almost constant pressure the visitors defended bravely in the first half and looked destined to reach the break on even terms until Andy Scott broke the deadlock in stoppage time. The pattern was repeated in the second half with much the same result until Cameron doubled our advantage near the end. The 2-0 win extended our excellent home record in the league and it would take a spectacular collapse in form to derail our championship bid now.
In the UEFA Cup 4th Round Hearts fought out a battling 1-1 draw at home to Monaco and Dundee managed a narrow 1-0 win over Wolfsburg thanks to a last-minute penalty.
The league programme continued with a trip to Cowdenbeath. Going into the game I realised that if we won and Stirling Albion lost then such was our lead that we would win the title. Goals from Scott and Cohen gave us a half time lead and we were looking comfortable. A second from Scott and a strike by Cameron wrapped up a 4-0 win. Back in the changing rooms we got news of the Albion game – they had lost 4-3 at Queens Park and the title was ours.
The Old Firm met in the League Cup Final at Hampden Park and Rangers came out on top, beating their fierce rivals 4-2.
As it happens our next game is at home to Albion Rovers. There was no danger of us losing our unbeaten home record as two goals from Cohen and one from Cameron took us into the break 3-0 ahead. We could afford to relax in the second period and Andy Scott added a 4th goal near the end for an easy 4-0 win.
In the UEFA Cup both of the Scottish teams secured 0-0 draws in their away legs. Unfortunately for Hearts this meant that Monaco went through on the away goals rule but for Dundee it was good enough to progress with a 1-0 aggregate over Wolfsburg.
Once again we managed a clean sweep of the monthly awards with Cohen, O’Neill and myself all picking up the prizes.
On The Up (The Country Lad Challenge) 
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